


a perfectly nice young man

by ballerinaroy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 15:44:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20914559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballerinaroy/pseuds/ballerinaroy
Summary: Between school, the war and its aftermath, Hermione hasn’t had much time to connect with her family. A family wedding seemed a good of time as any to introduce her family to her boyfriend and her best friend. But when her parents invite her out for tea in the days that followed, Hermione is woefully unprepared for their opinions on who she’s better suited for.





	a perfectly nice young man

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this for a reddit prompt that I'm believe was deleted. Basically "Mr. and Mrs. Granger beleive Harry is the better match for Hermione because they're snobs." 
> 
> Fits in with my "nineteen years later seems pretty far away" but not officially apart of the series at this point. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Hermione was so unused to going anywhere alone, it was a little strange to set off by herself. In fact, she can’t remember the last time that she left the flat without someone. In school, she’d been surrounded by Gryffindors and she and Ron always left for work together and all their social events were joint.

Several times she found herself looking over her shoulder to call out for Ron to hurry up, only to remember that her parents had invited her _alone_ to tea that afternoon. Nervously she ensured herself that it was indeed perfectly normal for a daughter to meet her parents alone and that she didn’t _need_ Ron to come with her.

Since finally restoring her parent's memories a year ago, she hadn’t made much of an effort to be with them alone, what with starting her career at the ministry and enjoying being in their early twenties without the threat of death looming over their heads. And they hadn’t had much of a chance to talk at the wedding. Ron had been so nervous about going that he’d convinced her that Harry coming along was a good idea. It had been, and Harry had a perfectly fine time entertaining her parents.

Checking her watch and seeing that it was time for her to depart, she put on the muggle cardigan she’d stowed in her bag that morning and set off.

“There you are sweetheart,” her father greeted her, standing and kissing her cheek. “We were wondering.”

“We said eleven, didn’t we?” Hermione asked, checking her watch. She didn’t think that she’d gotten the time mixed up.

“We just got here early,” her mother supplied as Hermione sat down and her father pushed her chair in. “You used to be early too, you know.”

“Yes, well, magic’s spoiled me quite a bit there,” Hermione said with a laugh. “Never have to worry about traffic, I can always arrive when I want to.”

“So you wanted to arrive precisely at the time of our appointment?” her father’s face was perfectly kind but she could hear the disapproval in his tone.

“Yes, well, trying to get ready with Ron and Harry, one of us is always working on something.” Hermione excused, feeling her face getting hot. “And there’s so many Weasleys that someone is always running late. We’re not very punctual.”

“Yes,” her mother replied shortly and her parents shared a significant look.

Again, Hermione had the distinct impression that she’d said something wrong and busied herself with pouring herself a cup of tea from the pot on the table rather than pressing them.

“So,” Hermione said, filling the silence. “Have you seen Martha and David since they got back? Their ceremony was so lovely.”

“Yes, we heard from Martha just yesterday, she said they had a wonderful time in Greece,” her mother answered. “She was really glad you were able to make it. You should give her a ring, give your thanks for her willingness to extend two extra invitations.”

“I was given a plus one,” Hermione reminded her. “So it was really just the one extra seat.”

Her mother nodded rather stiffly and hastily, Hermione agreed. “But I’ll try and call her later this week, let her know again how grateful I am.”

“And your Aunt Donna,” her father continued. “Seeing as they paid for Ron’s meal.”

Hermione blinked at her father, already feeling exhausted though they’d yet to order. “Yes, I’ll be sure to thank them, again, for my plus one.”

She looked around for a menu to occupy her hands but found none on the table. To change the subject she said, “I’m afraid I can’t take longer than an hour, should I flag down one of the waitstaff?”

“Oh, no, we’ve already ordered dear,” her father told her.

It had been so long since she’d dined out with her parents, she’d forgotten how efficient and proper they were. As a child, she’d never questioned her parents ordering for her, but could acutely remember visiting them for the holidays and being annoyed that as a teenager she wasn’t even allowed to order for herself. Again she found herself staying quiet, rather than expressing her discomfort.

“So, how’s work going?” her mother asked politely.

“It’s going well,” Hermione nodded, she glanced around and found them to be alone enough that she had no risk of being overheard. “I was asked to join a task force looking at all anti-muggleborn laws. The minister is looking at launching a campaign in the spring to eradicate as many as we can.”

“Anti-muggleborn laws?” her father questioned, brow furrowed. “I thought you overturned all of those.”

“Yes, but it’s not as simple as defeating one faction’s ideology,” Hermione explained. “Some of them were implemented during the previous rule, but many pro-pureblood laws date back centuries.”

“Pureblood?” her father asked. “Like what Ron is?”

“Yes,” Hermione answered. “But, again, his family never believed in that. The Weasleys fought on our side.”

“Oh,” he replied shortly, looking utterly unconvinced.

Hermione glanced between her parents

“Well, that’s very good dear,” her mother said smoothly. “Perhaps it’ll help you land a better job in a different department.”

“I’m not looking for another job,” Hermione said quietly. “This is just something extra that I was asked to help out with. I’m very happy where I am.”

“Yes, but it’s always good to be making connections.”

Again, she felt distinctly like they were disproving of something. “Anyway, speaking of Ron, he and his brother have been working together on plans to relaunch the store.”

“The store?” her mother asked, looking surprised. “Oh, do you mean that little trick shop?”

“It’s not just a joke shop,” Hermione defended. “They’ve accomplished some pretty advanced magic. Figured out ways to embed shield charms into hats and cloaks. With so many people scared to go out into public, they’re focusing on that right now. In fact, they’re in talks with the most popular seamstress to mass-produce a line that all Hogwarts students can afford.”

“That’s nice,” her mother said shortly, thoroughly unimpressed. “And how’s Harry? Martha was asking about him, she said that he and David had quite a nice conversation at the reception.”

“Harry’s good,” Hermione replied, a little confused at the sudden change in tone. “He and Ron are working together on-"

Now positive that she wasn’t making up their disapproval, she watched as their smiles dipped at the very mention of Ron’s name.

“Do you have some sort of issue with Ron?” Hermione asked suddenly, setting down her fork and knife with a little more force than she’d intended. “Because he’s who I’m engaged to, not Harry.”

Her parents didn’t even have the decency to share a look.

“Yes, dear, we know.” Her mother said gently. “And Ron is a perfectly nice young man. We just wonder whether he is who you’re best suited for.”

“Who I’m best suited for?” Hermione said quietly.

“We saw you at the wedding,” her father went on in the same infuriatingly patient tone. “You spent the whole time trying to keep him away from everyone, you barely got to talk to anyone at all. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said, “Are you saying that I should pick my partner based on who will behave best in the muggle functions I attend once a year?”

“You should be with someone who you feel comfortable bringing out in public,” her mother explained. “Someone who isn’t afraid of going off and chatting with the groom for fear that they’ll embarrass themselves.”

“You’re saying I’m better suited for Harry?”

The notion was so foreign to her that it sounded like a joke. A joke that both her parents gave sympathetic head tilts to and small smiles like she was finally catching on to something that should have been obvious.

“We’ve seen you with him,” her mother said calmly. “We just think that you’d be so much more relaxed.”

“And now that you’re out of school they’ll be plenty more opportunities for you to attend family events,” Her father went on. To the look on Hermione’s face, he added. “What about when you have children, Hermione? Do you really see yourself trying to wrangle your children and try to keep your husband for saying something stupid?”

“Ron is not stupid,” her cheeks were inflamed and her voice was dangerously low.

“We’re not saying he is,” her mother replied in that obvious tone. “But he didn’t grow up in _our_ world. Everything he says is a bit strange.”

“And think about how much easier it would be if you had someone else who understood how to function in_ our _world?” her father pointed out.

“How are you supposed to teach your children how to behave properly if they don’t even have a father who understands how to act like a functioning human?”

All this time her frustration had been building but now it was downright anger. Hermione found herself gripping the edge of the table so hard that her knuckles had turned white. “I love him.”

“And that’s all well and good,” her mother dismissed. “But if you’re looking for someone to spend your life with there’s plenty of other factors that are more important than infatuation.”

Hermione didn’t even have the words to respond, but they said exactly the thing that she’d been dreading ever since the conversation had turned.

“Harry is the hero of _your_ world. And if you are as important as you say you are then I’d think that you’d seriously consider who will help you gain notoriety. You have the opportunity to become extraordinary, why would you settle for anything less?” And when she didn’t reply—“Not to mention the financial security that Harry could offer you. What if you decided to continue your education? Who would support you while you were trying to advance your career?”

“We have money,” Hermione said shortly. “Ron and I both have good-paying jobs-“

“You have a roommate,” Her father interrupted.

“We live with Harry because we _like_ living with Harry.” Hermione snapped. “Not because we have to.”

“And can’t you see what’s wrong with that?” her mother said, changing the topic completely. “You and Ron don’t even want to be alone together.”

Suddenly, Hermione realized why exactly they’d insisted on meeting in public. She could feel herself about to cause a scene and it took a great deal of restraint not to start screaming at them.

“It’s clear you’ve given this a lot of thought.” She said through gritted teeth.

“We just want what’s best for you Hermione,” her mother said gently, reaching over to grasp her hand but Hermione snatched it away. “You’ve been seeing him for some time and we want you to have a serious conversation about who could provide the best future for you.”

Hermione took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. “Who could provide the best future for me?”

“Yes,” her father replied, sounding as if he thought she was actually considering what they were saying.

Hermione clenched her fists and leaned forward in her chair before opening her eyes and speaking. “The person who could provide the best future for me is the person that makes me happy. The person who holds me when I cry and makes sure that I don’t forget to eat and is always trying to make me giggle.

“Ron begged Harry to come with us to the wedding because he was so petrified that he was going to embarrass me. Not the other way round. Ron has been trying his hardest all along to get your approval because he cares about our relationship. I thought it a stupid concept all along, but now I’m beginning to see his point.”

“Hermione-“

She stood rather suddenly, the chair scraping across the tile loudly and alerting all the other patrons to their quiet argument.

“If you are even the remotest bit interested in a relationship with me then I think it’s high time that you get his approval. Because I have not once been embarrassed by him, but I am certainly embarrassed by you here today.” She stuffed her arms into her jacket with force. “So either you figure out a way to accept the man that I love or you’ll never have to worry about my children or my partner saying something you don’t understand because you’ll never have the privilege of being around them at all.”

Fuming, Hermione marched from the dining room, throwing open the door and listened, with some satisfaction as it slammed closed behind her. Through her angry haze she scarcely noticed where she was going until she found herself, as she did almost every day, marching up towards the Auror department and through the cubicles towards the sound of Ron’s laughter. She found him sitting with a rather large group of Aurors in Neville’s cubical, leaning against a desk and telling a rather animated story.

“And then, right as I was about to—Hermione!” he said in surprise, stopping mid-sentence. “Er-I thought you were having tea with your parents?”

He looked a little frightened of her. “I did,” she replied, marching over to him. “It went poorly.”

And before he had the chance to ask why she threw her arms around him and kissed him hard on the mouth.

“I love you,” she said fiercely. “You make me very happy and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Dazed, Ron nodded. “Yeah, alright.”

Feeling better she nodded, letting go of him and only then became aware that she’d had an audience.

“Right,” she nodded, looking back at him. “I’ll see you at home.” She turned and nodded at the Aurors. “Harry, Neville.”

They stared at her, looking just as stunned and she braved a last glance at Ron to find him wearing the adorable grin that she so loved. Before her cheeks could reflect the embarrassment inside her she turned, marching straight back out of the department feeling, for the first time that hour, wonderful.


End file.
